Page 12 - Top MMA News and Mixed Martial Arts Headlines

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Bellator has once again booked a rematch between Patrick Freire and Derek Campos. The promotion announced on Friday that the lightweight talents will battle in the co-main event of Bellator 194 in Uncasville on Feb. 16.

Veteran announcer Jimmy Smith didn’t stay out of the mixed martial arts game long.
The former longtime color commentator has joined the UFC broadcast team, the company announced on Friday. The move comes just two weeks after it was announced that Smith and Bellator had mutually parted ways.

Jessica-Rose Clark should be solely focused on perhaps the biggest fight of her career. Instead, three days before facing Paige VanZant, she’s having to deal with being the victim of a crime and a badly injured pet.

UFC standouts Frankie Edgar and Marlon Moraes achieved a high point in their martial arts careers this week. Both fighters had their Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt status upgraded by longtime coach Ricardo Almeida.

Bryan Caraway is staying close to home for his return to the Octagon.
The Las Vegas resident will meet prospect Cody Stamann at UFC 222 on March 3 at T-Mobile Arena, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday night.

In the wake of an injury to Tonya Evinger, Marion Reneau has been rebooked against Sara McMann.
Originally slated to fight at UFC Fight Night 126, Reneau will face McMann at UFC on FOX 28, MMAjunkie has learned from multiple people with knowledge of the new booking.

Volkan Oezdemir currently has no legal obstacles in his way for UFC 220.
The UFC light heavyweight contender pleaded not guilty on a felony charge and demanded a trial by jury at an arraignment Tuesday in Broward County (Fla.) Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court, his attorney Bruce A. Zimet told MMA Fighting. Oezdemir’s next court date is scheduled for Feb. 22.
Per state attorney spokesperson Kristi Grimm, there have been no stipulations made by the court regarding Oezdemir’s travel. So, he should have no issue making it to Boston for his title fight against UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in the co-main event of UFC 220.

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson went under the knife on Wednesday.
Johnson had successful left shoulder surgery, MMAFighting.com confirmed with Johnson following the procedure. It is unclear at this time how long his recovery will take and when he might be able to return to action. “Mighty Mouse” said he’s been experiencing shoulder pain since December.

Amanda Ribas, we hardly knew ye.
The Brazilian women’s strawweight fighter has been suspended two years by USADA before ever even making her UFC debut, the UFC’s anti-doping partner announced Wednesday.

UFC Austin will have to undergo an unexpected shake-up.
Former Invicta FC bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger has been forced to withdraw from her Feb. 18 bout against Marion Reneau after suffering an undisclosed injury.

“Big” John McCarthy is making a big move.
The legendary mixed martial arts referee will be joining Bellator MMA as a member of its broadcast team, the promotion announced Tuesday. McCarthy will start his duties as a color commentator at Bellator 192 on Jan. 20 in Los Angeles. It will be the first Bellator card on the newly re-branded Paramount Network.

Mike Perry officially is on the comeback trail after a high-profile setback last month.
Perry (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) today confirmed his next octagon appearance, which will take place against Max Griffin (13-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC on FOX 28.

Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk recently received an honor worthy of her world-class athletic accomplishments.
Jedrzejczyk, a native of Olsztyn, Poland, was selected to carry the Olympic torch for a segment of the torch’s journey to Pyeongchang County, South Korea, for the 2018 Winter Games, which begin on Feb. 9.

It’s been 11 months since Anderson Silva stepped foot inside the Octagon, but he’s looking forward to coming back as soon as possible.
“The Spider” has not fought since February 2017, a unanimous decision victory over Derek Brunson at UFC 208 that snapped a four-year winless drought. Silva, 42, was supposed to fight Kelvin Gastelum in Shanghai, China, this past November, but he was removed from the bout after failing an out-of-competition drug test.

The UFC had another busy year in 2017, and 39 events took place around the globe. During that time, many records were set and produced a host of historic moments.
Now that the year has come to a close, and with the help of FightMetric research analyst and live-statistics producer Michael Carroll, here are some of 2017’s most significant events, fights and individual performances.